


welcome to the party (DISCONTINUED)

by wo_osan (orphan_account)



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bedsharing, College AU, Drinking, Fake Dating, M/M, Meet-Cute, Partying, SO filled with tropes, Strangers to Lovers, kind of???, literally cliche as fuck but we'll have a great time, shirtless san, wooyoung walks in on him getting changed by accident
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25885897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/wo_osan
Summary: “Wait,” San says when Wooyoung turns around to leave. “If you want- uh. Maybe I could help- um, I don’t know. If you need anyone to help make that piece of shit jealous, let me know, yeah?”Wooyoung blinks at him. “What do you mean?”“Like, if you wanna give him a hard time by showing him how much he missed out on by treating you like that, I’d be happy to help.”or: san offers to help wooyoung get revenge on his asshole ex
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, side seonghwa/yeosang
Comments: 41
Kudos: 160





	1. we met at that party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy there. this is literally the most trope-filled thing i've ever written, which is saying a lot. but do i have any regrets? absolutely not.

Quite frankly, Wooyoung is in disbelief at this turn of events.

Yeosang – his best friend of six years and roommate ever since they’d both decided to go to the same university – had texted him that he’d need the room to himself tonight, which wouldn’t be as much of a problem if he’d actually told Wooyoung in _advance_ instead of texting him just as he was on his way back to their dorm, looking forward to having an early bedtime after a long, tiring day of studying. The texts had gone something along the lines of,

 **yeosang → wooyoung (8.43pm)**  
if u come bakc to our room tonight i will murder u and then pour all ur expensive cologne down the toilet  
im being serious DO NOT ENTER  
i finallyyyyyyyyy am gonna hook up w the sexy barista  
from that coffee shop down the street  
u know ive been waiting for this moment the entire semester do NOT ruin this for me

And, sure, it’s a little inconvenient for Wooyoung considering he’s apparently now gonna have to find somewhere to crash for the night when he doesn’t even have his toothbrush. But he’s Yeosang’s best friend, and not interrupting when your bestie is about to get with the sexy coffeeshop barista said bestie had his eye on all semester is part of the bro code. Besides, knowing Yeosang, he hadn’t been kidding about pouring Wooyoung’s cologne down the toilet and that shit was _expensive._

So he’d texted back,

 **wooyoung → yeosang (8.51pm)**  
ok don’t worry about it dude  
have funnnn~~ be safe  
u better tell me everything tmr

Yeosang hadn’t replied since then, so Wooyoung is assuming everything is going well. Now he needs to find somewhere to stay overnight, because – as much as he loves Yeosang – he is _not_ going to sleep in the toilets next to the library just so that his best friend can get dicked down.

 **wooyoung → mingi (8.53pm)**  
hiiii my fave bro whos the kindest person ive ever met

 **mingi (8.53pm)**  
what do u want from me..

 **wooyoung (8.54pm)**  
why do u immediately assume i want something o(╥﹏╥)o  
mayb im just texting bc i like talking to u

 **mingi (8.54pm)**  
..

 **wooyoung (8.54pm)**  
ok fine.  
i got sexiled and need somewhere to crash 2nite

 **mingi (8.54pm)**  
lmaoooo loser  
im going to my friends party but u can come if u want  
and sleep on my couch after

 **wooyoung (8.54pm)**  
wtf what friend and why wasn’t i invited

 **mingi (8.55pm)**  
u dontn know him  
but hes super chill im sure he’d be fine w u coming

 **wooyoung (8.55pm)**  
ok yay sounds good  
i don’t look sexy rn tho bc yeosang is a selfish bastard and gave me no warning b4 locking me out (∩︵∩)

 **mingi (8.55pm)**  
its not a big event im sure whatever ur wearing is fine  
what r u wearing

 **wooyoung (8.55pm)**  
omg… R u trying to sext w me right now (◕‿-)

 **mingi (8.55pm)**  
literally fuck off  
im not gonna let u come to the party

 **wooyoung (8.55pm)**  
JUST KIDIDNG HAHA… got u so good

 **mingi (8.55pm)**  
u downloading that stupid kawaii emoticons keyboard was the worst thing that evr happened to me

 **wooyoung (8.55pm)**  
no wtf theyre so cute (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧  
im omw to ur room  
wearing a hoodie and jeans btw  
and no underwear  
just kidding dontn block me  
hello mingi  
plz im sorry  
i am wearing underwear i was jokig  
helloooooo  
wtf did u block me  
dude im literally outside ur room  
coming in now

* * *

Mingi’s room is exactly the same as Wooyoung’s (seeing as they live in the same university accommodation building) just a little messier. Jongho, Mingi’s roommate and another friend of Wooyoung’s, is at musical theatre rehearsal, according to Mingi. He’s landed the lead role in their new production – unsurprising, given that he has the voice of an angel, and the lung capacity to hold a stable high note for longer than what Wooyoung thinks should be humanly possible.

“So, who’s this mysterious friend I’ve never heard about?” Wooyoung asks, helping himself to some of the jelly worms from the packet on Mingi’s desk.

“He’s in some of my classes, super chill dude. You’ll like him,” Mingi says, frustratingly cryptic.

“Really? What makes you think that?” Wooyoung asks as he chews on the candy.

“Firstly, as I said, he’s a nice guy. Secondly, you get along with everyone. I swear there’s, like, two people on campus that you’re not friends with.”

That’s a fair point. Maybe that’s why Wooyoung’s so surprised by the fact that Mingi’s got some secret friend he’s been keeping hidden away. Or not really keeping hidden, considering he’s made it clear that he’s happy to introduce Wooyoung to him. But still.

“Now you’ve made me curious,” Wooyoung says, then flops down onto the couch that will be his bed for tonight. “How am I supposed to wait until the party to meet this mysterious man?”

“I’m sure you’ll manage somehow,” Mingi says dryly.

“Wanna play some League of Legends?” Wooyoung asks, grabbing a couple more jelly worms.

“Dude, you know I fucking suck at that game. Let’s play Fifa.”

“Fine, whatever, but only ‘cause I owe you for letting me crash here.”

They only end up playing for about twenty minutes before Mingi announces that they should set off, which is definitely a good thing because Fifa is boring as fuck, in Wooyoung’s humble opinion. And Mingi is a smug bastard who loves the fact that he’s clearly got Wooyoung beat.

Mingi’s mysterious friend’s place is in a different accommodation, a short walk down the street. Apparently, he lives in an apartment with a couple of friends, where they regularly throw parties, and Wooyoung’s genuinely a little surprised that he’s never been invited to any of them. The apartment itself is modern and sleek; almost cool enough to make Wooyoung jealous that he doesn’t live here. It’s a small-ish party, with probably less than thirty people in attendance, everyone sipping their drinks in the living room and hallway.

Mingi’s definitely been here before, judging by the way several people recognise him and come over to say hi. Luckily for Wooyoung, he’s always been extroverted, and thrives in social settings like these. Within a couple of minutes, he’s already struck up a conversation with a pretty, brown-haired girl named Yeji about the merits of drinking wine as opposed to beer.

“Wine makes me sleepy,” Yeji is saying, waving the bottle of beer in her hand for emphasis. “And it’s the type of drink you have when you’re at a fancy dinner with your grandparents, not at a party.”

“Fair point,” Wooyoung says with a smile as he takes a sip of his own beer. Personally, he’s not the biggest fan, but he’s also not about to be the asshole that’s sipping wine out of a fancy glass at a college party. “Okay, how about this for a controversial opinion: Tequila shots are better than either of them.”

“No way,” Yeji’s nose wrinkles. “That shit is disgusting.”

“Nah, it’s great when you get that balance of salt and lemon just right.” Wooyoung takes a final swig of his beer, finishing the last few mouthfuls. He glances towards the kitchen, where there’s a few more drinks lined up. It’s not often the case that people provide drinks at their parties, but he’s not about to say no if it’s on offer. “I’m gonna grab another drink, can I get you anything?”

He sees a second of hesitation in Yeji’s eyes, as she clearly tries to determine whether this is him making a move. Not wanting her to get the wrong idea, he quickly says, “I’m gay, by the way. Just to put that out there.”

Yeji’s eyes flash with relief. “Oh, me too,” she says.

Wooyoung can’t say he’s surprised. He’s pretty good at guessing this kind of thing. “So, drink? We can go get them together, if you want.”

“I’m good, thanks, but I’ll be here if you wanna chat more about alcoholic beverages afterwards,” Yeji says, grinning as she lifts her beer in a ‘cheers’ gesture.

“Definitely. We haven’t even had a chance to discuss the pros and cons of vodka yet.”

As Wooyoung walks through the apartment towards the kitchen, he spots a few people he recognises, albeit not as many as he’s used to in these kinds of social settings. Mingi had been right when he’d said that Wooyoung is generally at least acquainted with most people on campus, so it’s surprising that there aren’t more people here that he knows.

But then he catches sight of a familiar face, and his heart stops in his chest as he does a shocked double take. Yeah, there’s no mistaking that sharp nose, those full lips. It’s definitely Lee Donghyun, Wooyoung’s ex… friends with benefits? Regular hook-up? He doesn’t even know what they’d been, but it had ended a few months ago. On extremely bad terms.

_Fuck._

Wooyoung’s body reacts instinctively before he even has a chance to mentally evaluate the situation, some kind of fucked up fight or flight response with him going for the escape strategy, and he’s already ducking into the door to his left before Donghyun can spot him.

He leans his forehead against the door when it’s safely closed, heart in his throat as he tries to take a moment to calm down. He had _not_ been prepared to see him tonight. Why the _fuck_ is he even here? It seems like a deliberate insult to Wooyoung, like he’s trying to ruin his night just with his presence, even though that’s stupid because Donghyun had no idea that Wooyoung would be there and most likely hadn’t even noticed him yet.

“Um… hi?” comes an unfamiliar voice from behind him.

Wooyoung spins around, eyes wide. He’s been too preoccupied with his thoughts to realise that he’s in someone’s bedroom, and that he’s not alone. Rather, there’s a guy standing there, staring at him in surprise.

A very hot guy. A very hot, very _shirtless_ guy.

Wooyoung feels a little like his life has suddenly turned into a cliché rom-com, except this isn’t fun at all and he’s just really embarrassed because _what the fuck is he supposed to say now?_

“Hi,” Wooyoung stammers, trying to keep his eyes firmly on the dude’s face and not his super sexy set of abs. Although that’s not really less distracting, since his face is sculpted like a gorgeous statue, all defined cheekbones and sharp jawline. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I totally just barged in on you, sorry. God, this is so embarrassing. I spotted my ex… uh, we never really defined what we were, but my ex-thing, and I totally panicked, but I should’ve knocked or something, I’m really-”

The guy raises an eyebrow, expression amused as he interrupts Wooyoung’s rambling. “It’s okay, don’t worry. Let me just grab a shirt, but it’s all good.”

“Y-yeah,” Wooyoung replies, averting his eyes to everything except the guy as he grabs a shirt out from an open drawer and pulls it on. The room is nice. Typical for what you’d expect from a college boy, although tidier than most.

“Someone spilled their drink on me, so I came in here to get changed,” the guy says by way of explanation when he’s got a shirt on.

“Oh,” Wooyoung says dumbly. He wonders whether he’ll be able to speak in more than single syllable words around the other guy, or if he’d used up all his capacity to talk when he’d gone on his embarrassing rant.

“I’m Choi San, by the way.”

The name isn’t familiar, which makes sense. Wooyoung would definitely remember if he’d met someone with a face like _this_. “I’m Wooyoung. Jung Wooyoung.”

Now he sounds like he’s trying to imitate James Bond or some shit. He should probably leave before he can do anything else to humiliate himself around this guy.

“Nice to meet you, Jung Wooyoung,” San says. Wooyoung can’t help but think how his name sounds so nice when this guy says it, and then immediately kicks himself mentally because what kind of corny bullshit is _that_ , especially considering he’d met this dude, like, two minutes ago.

“Yeah, nice to meet you,” Wooyoung replies, hoping his voice doesn’t give away how flustered he is.

San’s expression is still amused. “So, are you planning on hiding away here for the rest of the party to avoid your ex- _thing?”_

Wooyoung can feel his cheeks flush. “Nah, I was just taken off guard. We, um. Things ended pretty messily.”

“Ah,” San says, nodding like he understands.

Wooyoung doesn’t know why he feels the need to elaborate since San hadn’t asked, but he can’t stop himself from adding, “I got cheated on. Even though technically it wasn’t cheating because we hadn’t defined what we were, but I’d been assuming that we were seeing each other exclusively. And I walked in on them on my birthday. And then I had no date to take to my cousin’s wedding a week later, because I’d been planning on taking my ex.”

San’s expression turns more sympathetic, and Wooyoung immediately regrets spilling all his deep dark secrets to this random stranger when he’d barely even told the full story to most of his friends. It’s even worse that said stranger is super hot and also didn’t ask and probably doesn’t care about why Wooyoung’s ex is a piece of shit.

This is so embarrassing. Wooyoung doesn’t know why he can’t get a grip of himself right now when he’s only had one beer and usually he’s the most charming bitch at every party.

“That really sucks, I’m sorry,” San says. “I’m sure you’ll find a better girl.”

 _And there it is._ A stone settles in Wooyoung’s stomach, even though he’d given San absolutely no reason to assume that he hadn’t been talking about a girl.

However, the last time Wooyoung had lied about his sexuality had been in high school, and he’s never planning on doing that again, so he quickly says, “Um, actually. My ex is a guy.”

San looks surprised for a second, mouth opening and closing briefly. “Oh. A better guy, then,” he says.

Wooyoung realises that he’d been holding his breath; he feels relief seep through him at San’s words even though he knows it’s stupid that he feels this way whenever he reveals his sexuality to anyone. “Yeah, well, here’s to hoping.”

“And your shitty ex is in the other room?”

Wooyoung nods. “Yeah, his name is Donghyun. Maybe you know him. But it’s fine. I can handle it. Maybe I’ll leave soon, though.” There’s nothing that would ruin his night as much as having to talk to that motherfucker.

“Oh,” San says again, and Wooyoung wonders why San’s suddenly gone so quiet. Maybe he was bothered by Wooyoung’s sexuality after all, and was just pretending he wasn’t? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d have encountered that kind of thing from college assholes.

“Okay, well,” Wooyoung says when San stays silent. “I might actually head home now. This party was fun, though,” he adds, because it’s pretty obvious that this is San’s room, which would make him one of the hosts.

“Wait,” San says when Wooyoung turns around to leave. “If you want- uh. Maybe I could help- um, I don’t know. If you need anyone to help make that piece of shit jealous, let me know, yeah?”

Wooyoung blinks at him. “What do you mean?”

“Like, if you wanna give him a hard time by showing him how much he missed out on by treating you like that, I’d be happy to help. He’s the one in the wrong, so it sucks that you feel like you need to be the one to avoid him. And I know him, and... Well, let’s just say we’re not the closest of friends.”

Wooyoung’s still struggling to catch up with the fact that San had just suggested that he can help make Donghyun jealous by- what? Pretending that he’s dating Wooyoung instead? Wooyoung isn’t sure, but he sure as hell isn’t about to say no when 1) San is hot as shit and 2) Donghyun is an asshole and he’d love any kind of revenge he can get on that dickbag.

“Yeah, that would be great actually,” he says, then hesitates. “Like, what exactly would that involve?”

San looks sheepish as he scratches the back of his neck with his hand. His shirt pulls up slightly, giving Wooyoung an unwelcome reminder of the sexy set of abs he has hidden underneath.

“Uh, we can pretend that we’re hooking up?” San says, and Wooyoung notices that he’s blushing a little which is, well. Really cute. “It would be too risky to say we’re dating when he could ask anyone and find out that we’re, um, not dating.”

Wooyoung nods, feeling dazed. He’d never expected his night to take this kind of turn; he remembers his earlier though of his life having turned into some kitschy rom-com and almost laughs. “That would be great, thank you.”

San’s cheeks are still pink. “There’s no need to thank me. I’d be happy to do something to get under that dude’s skin. He’s comes over occasionally ‘cause one of my friends is on the same basketball team as him, and he’s kind of an asshole.”

“Tell me about it,” Wooyoung snorts. “Okay, so if we’re gonna do this, we need to be more comfortable with each other. Do you wanna kiss?” _Wait, fuck._ He hadn’t meant to say that at all, it had just slipped out because he’d been distracted by how pretty San’s lips were, all perfectly proportioned and soft-looking, and apparently his brain-to-mouth filter is non-existent around this dude.

San’s eyes widen comically. “W-what?”

Wooyoung can feel himself panicking, well aware that he’s crossed a line. San hadn’t even said he’s into guys like that; maybe him offering to help is entirely about some kind of payback on Donghyun. “Shit, are you straight? Sorry, I just assumed-”

“I’m not straight,” San immediately interrupts, tone outraged. “I just wasn’t expecting you to say that.”

Wooyoung hadn’t anticipated the way his heart would swoop at San confirming that he’s into guys, all the possibilities that suddenly seem a lot more tangible. “Oh. Sorry.”

San seems to collect himself, stepping towards Wooyoung with a small smile. “Alright, let’s do it then,” he says.

Wooyoung swallows, heart suddenly beating a lot faster. “Do what?” he asks, even though there’s a ninety-nine percent chance San is referring to what Wooyoung had just suggested.

“Let’s kiss,” San says simply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE FUCKIN GOOOO this is so self-indulgent and i have zero regrets.
> 
> also, if you follow any of my other stories you're probably thinking: wtf ANOTHER wip? but what can i say, my friends. inspiration is a fickle creature, and right now inspiration told me i need to write this Rn or else. also im feeling super duper motivated for this story so i rly want to get back in the habit of updatign every few days instead of weeks/months.
> 
> if u enjoyed this and wanna read more plz plz leave a comment, i cannot stress enough how much they mean to me even if it's just letting me know that you enjoyed it. im also planning on starting to use my [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/woosanists) more often, so feel free to leave me any questions there if you wanna chat about this fic/any of my other fics/ateez/kpop in general xoxo


	2. unexpected

Even though Wooyoung had been the one to suggest that they should kiss, his pulse is hammering so hard he can feel it in his throat as San moves closer towards him. His stomach is swooping in a way that isn’t entirely unpleasant, but also isn’t something he’s used to feeling in this kind of context.

He’s no stranger to kissing people he doesn’t know well; has done so on many occasions at various parties. But something about San makes him feel like an inexperienced teenager, all the flirty charm he’s usually so proud of flying out of the window. Maybe it’s the fact that San is gorgeous, or maybe it’s because he’s seen him shirtless, or it might just be the way he can’t seem to stop embarrassing himself in front of San.

Either way, he’s practically holding his breath as San leans in, so dazed that he forgets to close his eyes. He feels a soft pair of lips against his cheek, a tingle running down his spine, and then San is stepping back with a small smile.

Wooyoung really fucking hope his expression doesn’t look as stunned as he feels, even though he’s practically resisting the urge to touch his cheek like the protagonists in those corny romance movies.

_Beep, beep._

It’s a big relief his phone starts buzzing, saving him from having to reply as Wooyoung instead opts for digging it out from his pocket and glancing down at the screen.

 **mingi → wooyoung (10.34pm)**  
dude???‼].>!>@  
where tf are u ive been looking 4 u everywher  
he who must not be mentioned is here.  
d*nghyun.  
do u wanna leave  
???

“It’s my friend Mingi, he’s wondering where I am,” Wooyoung tells San by way of explanation, because it feels rude to just leave him hanging.

“You know Mingi?” San asks, curious. “Wait, is he the one who invited you to this party?”

“Yeah, why?” Wooyoung says as he shoves his phone back into his pocket again, deciding to text Mingi back later.

“Oh. _Oh,_ I see,” San says, face lighting up as he clearly comes to some kind of realisation that Wooyoung has no clue about. “You’re the one he wanted to introduce to me tonight.”

“ _You’re_ Mingi’s mysterious friend?” Wooyoung says, finally putting the pieces together.

“If you mean whether I’m the host he’s friends with, then yeah.”

Now Wooyoung is even more disbelieving that Mingi had taken so long to introduce Wooyoung to this hot, friendly and not-heterosexual guy. Better late than never, however, and the timing is perfect, because Mingi’s text had been a reminder of the consequences of running into Donghyun.

“You were being serious about helping me make my ex jealous, right?” Wooyoung asks. He needs to make sure, because doubts are already running through his mind. Why would San want to help him, and what would he have to gain?

“If you want to, then definitely,” San says.

“I do, like, a lot. It’s just, he’s- I’m not-” Wooyoung doesn’t know how to phrase his thoughts without coming off as an insecure asshole with way too much emotional baggage. “It’s just that I’m not sure he ever cared about me enough to get jealous,” he finally says.

San’s expression is neutral as he considers Wooyoung’s words. “I mean, knowing him, I doubt that. Even if he made it seem that way, I’m pretty sure he’ll be at least a little thrown off if you guys have a past together.”

“I guess the only way we can find out is by going for it and seeing what happens,” Wooyoung says. Just the memory of Donghyun’s smug face when he’d tried to explain to Wooyoung that _‘this isn’t cheating, we aren’t officially together, I never claimed that we’re exclusive’_ is making him nauseous, and he’d do anything to make that asshole feel just a fraction of the hurt he’d gone through on the night of his birthday.

He’s about to suggest they should head back to the party and get started with whatever it is that they’re about to do to make Donghyun jealous when San steps towards him again, leaning in to gently ruffle Wooyoung’s hair a little.

“What are you doing?” Wooyoung asks, hating the way he can feel his skin warm from a gesture as innocent as this.

“We might as well take advantage of the fact that we’ve been in here together, because if we come out looking like- well, I’m sure he’ll draw his own conclusions,” San says as an explanation.

Wooyoung feels himself flush even more at the implications of San’s words, but he’s also surprised he hadn’t come up with that idea himself. It’s pretty ingenious – there’s no way people won’t immediately assume that they’d been hooking up after they exit San’s bedroom together.

San steps back after deeming Wooyoung’s hair sufficiently ruffled, then he does the same to himself. He looks good like this, Wooyoung can’t help but think, his dark hair falling over his eyes in a very realistic _I-just-had-sex_ look.

Even though both of them are probably still a little too neat for a post-hookup, it should do the trick. After all, people believe what they want to believe, and Wooyoung is sure that everyone would immediately jump to whichever conclusion is the best gossip.

“Shall we?” San asks, gesturing towards his door.

The party is pretty much exactly the same as earlier, with people still chatting and drinking beers. Some upbeat pop song is playing through the speakers, loudly enough that Wooyoung wonders how San isn’t worried about getting a noise complaint.

A couple of people glance curiously at them as they step out into the hallway. There’s a girl Wooyoung recognises from one of his classes, and she gives him a thumbs up – the _‘congrats on getting laid’_ kind.

San doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around Wooyoung’s shoulder, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “Just try to look natural. Smile, or something.”

Wooyoung’s never been the best actor, but still he manages to give a laugh that feels almost real, resting his head against San’s shoulder. He tries his best to channel his inner thot and remember how he’d be behaving right now if he’d really just hooked up with San inside his bedroom, but it’s hard to think strategically when he’s distracted by how nice San smells, and how pleasantly solid his body feels against Wooyoung.

The warmth in his chest turns icy cold, however, when he catches sight of Donghyun, sitting on the couch with some other guys as they prepare to engage in what appears to be a beer chugging competition.

Wooyoung can tell that San notices him too, his arm tightening just the slightest bit around Wooyoung’s shoulder. “Don’t look at him,” he mumbles against Wooyoung’s ear.

Wooyoung drags his eyes away from Donghyun, an unpleasant cocktail of emotions swirling in his stomach: nostalgia, dread, and a very noticeable bout of anger. But as he glances around the room, he can only see more and more people shooting curious looks at him and San, someone even poking their friend next to them and pointing not-so-subtly towards them.

It makes sense. San’s the host, so most of the people here would know him even if they didn’t know Wooyoung. And the inquiring gazes don’t even seem mean-spirited; people are just looking for something to talk about the same way Wooyoung would be if he were in their position.

It’s a good thing Wooyoung doesn’t mind being the centre of attention – thrives on it, actually. He’d felt out of his element earlier in San’s room, when he’d barely been able to string together two coherent sentences for some reason. Now, the more people look at him, the more confident he feels, wanting to put on the best show for everyone that will leave them wondering who the hell the guy with Choi San is.

“You good?” San mumbles.

Wooyoung nods, then, before he can think too much about it, turns his head to place a kiss on San’s jaw. The skin is soft against his lips and it makes him forget about what they’re doing for a second, mouth tingling as draws back slightly.

 _This isn’t real,_ he reminds himself. _Focus on the goal._

His eyes land on Donghyun again, who’s now staring at them with a somewhat horrified expression. He has beer on his chin and all down the front of his shirt from the plastic cup he’d clearly just dropped.

The other guys around him don’t even pause their chugging contest to spare them a glance, but Wooyoung can hardly see them, eyes focused in tunnel vision on Donghyun. He’s almost surprised by how little he feels in terms of affection or attraction, the only emotion in his chest a bitter rage at the sight of that stupid face.

Wooyoung can still remember the exact way Donghyun had looked when he’d walked into his room on the evening of his birthday, expecting to have dinner together before the party Yeosang was throwing him and maybe even hoping that Donghyun had gotten him a gift. Of course, instead he’d found him getting head from his coursemate that he’d always told Wooyoung was just a friend. When Wooyoung had immediately confronted him, he’d somehow twisted everything to make it seem like Wooyoung had only himself to blame; for deluding himself into thinking they actually were exclusive, for catching feelings when it was always only supposed to be a purely physical thing.

Yeah, fuck that dude for real.

Their eyes are still locked, Donghyun’s face slipping from shocked to almost angry, eyebrows creasing as he frowns at them. But San’s already drawing Wooyoung away, turning him gently so that he’s no longer facing the group of people and instead pressing him against the table behind them, his body blocking the view of Donghyun and the others.

“You still good?” San asks again. “You’re looking a little spooked.”

Wooyoung nods, trying not to overthink the way Donghyun had looked at him just now – what had it meant? And why did it make Wooyoung feel so furious?

“I really hate him,” he mumbles.

“Understandable,” San says, and Wooyoung appreciates that even though he’s standing close enough to make it look realistic for two people who were supposedly just hooking up, he’s not crowding him too much. “He’s an asshole. But you don’t need to do this if you don’t want to. Revenge isn’t worth it if it makes you feel worse in the process. We can go play video games in my room, if you want. Or you can leave, if you don’t feel like being here. That’s fine too.”

It’s sweet of him to offer, but Wooyoung’s already committed to following through with this impulsive plan.

“Nah, I’m fine,” he says. “If you’re cool going through with it, then I’m definitely down. I owe it to myself to show everyone what he missed out on.”

San nods, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. “Well, I’ll just follow your lead. Do whatever you need to do.”

“Let’s join them,” Wooyoung says, indicating subtly towards the table Donghyun is sitting at. “Not, like, _join_ them, because that would be suspicious. But let’s sit near to them and- I dunno, talk, or whatever, within hearing vicinity.”

It only takes a moment for them to cross the room to where Donghyun and his friends are sitting. Wooyoung stays closely pressed to San and deliberately keeps his eyes fixed on his face the entire time to avoid letting his gaze stray. He really is handsome, almost intimidatingly so, with his sharp jawline and cat-like eyes, and he smells fucking amazing; Wooyoung wonders whether there’s any way he can ask what cologne he’s wearing without seeming creepy because he kind of wants to cop it for himself.

“Well, he’s definitely watching us,” San murmurs against Wooyoung’s ear, breath hot on his neck.

Wooyoung exhales a laugh, wrapping his arms around San and pulling him in a little closer. They’re _really_ close now, and it fills Wooyoung with a rush of adrenaline, heart beating hard in his chest and the loud music and chatter of the room fading to background noise.

He can’t help but think that he definitely wants to kiss San right now, but that hadn’t exactly been part of the agreement and San had deliberately not kissed him on the mouth earlier, in his room. Still, he hadn’t even noticed that his gaze had dropped to San’s lips until he realises that he’s looking at them now, wishing he could move even closer and-

“Hey, Wooyoung,” comes a horribly familiar voice from next to them. “What’s up, San.”

Wooyoung lets one arm drop, keeping the other wrapped around San’s shoulder as he turns to face Donghyun, anger already settling in his stomach like a stone. That dickhead honestly has some nerve to actually come up and talk to him after everything that happened between them, especially since Wooyoung had called him a ‘selfish, backstabbing, lying piece of shit’ to his face and then told him to never contact him again before blocking him on all social media.

“Hi,” Wooyoung says, not bothering to mask the resentment in his tone. San doesn’t say anything, watching Donghyun with an unimpressed expression.

“It’s… been a while,” Donghyun says, bringing a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck abashedly. He’s wiped the beer off his chin, but his shirt is soggy with the liquid and Wooyoung can smell it from where he’s standing.

“What do you want?” Wooyoung says, not in the mood to beat around the bush.

“I… Can I talk to you in private?” Donghyun asks, running his hand through his hair.

“No.” In fact, he can’t imagine anything he would like less.

“Please. Just give me three minutes,” Donghyun says, glancing towards San and then back to Wooyoung.

“I’m not going anywhere. If you’re gonna say something, you can say it here.”

Donghyun’s face falls further, the situation clearly not going according to whatever dumb plan he’d had.

“Fine,” he starts, sighing. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, especially recently, and I really regret how things went between us. I know that at the time we weren’t exclusive, so technically I didn’t do anything wrong, but I still regret it and I’m sorry if I hurt you. I’d really love for us to give things another shot-”

“Dude,” San interrupts, tightening his grip on Wooyoung as he stares at Donghyun incredulously. “Are you seriously making a move on him when I’m standing _right here?”_

“San, I get it, and I promise you that this is nothing personal. But Wooyoung and I have history,” Donghyun says dismissively. “You wouldn’t understa-”

Wooyoung is so furious that he doesn’t even know what to say, eyes wide. _Fucking hell_ , he just wants to punch that son of a bitch right in the face, but people are already starting to give them curious looks and he doesn’t want to draw more attention to the situation. “First of all, fuck you,” he says, glad that his voice is stable despite the anger flowing through him.

“I know this is probably unexpected,” Donghyun turns back towards him, “and I get if you need time to think-”

“No. I don’t need time to think. Leave me alone,” Wooyoung says. He genuinely can’t believe he’d ever had feelings for the guy standing in front of him. Sure, Donghyun is good looking, but had Wooyoung really been so blinded by attraction that he’d never noticed what a conceited asshole he is?

Donghyun starts saying something about how Wooyoung should at least unblock his number, but Wooyoung is barely listening. The number of people pretending they’re not watching the conversation unfold is growing, some of them not even bothering to hide their curious glances.

“Can’t you just take a hint and fuck off,” San interrupts, and Wooyoung could _kiss_ him.

“Look, San, this is none of your business,” Donghyun says, crossing his arms over his beer-soaked shirt as he turns to face San.

“It clearly is his fucking business when I’m dating him now,” Wooyoung snaps. San gives no sign of being taken off guard by the words, still staring at Donghyun with a hostile glare.

Donghyun pauses, taking a moment to consider this. “Like- you guys are exclusive?”

“God, you are such a piece of shit,” Wooyoung gives a disbelieving laugh.

“Doesn’t change the fact that you were into me, baby,” Donghyun replies, winking at Wooyoung in a way that makes his skin crawl.

He’s about to step forward to shove Donghyun when a girl steps into their small circle, taking in the scene with a confused look. Wooyoung quickly recognises her as Yeji, the girl he’d talked to earlier.

“What’s going on? San? What’s all this about you supposedly dating someone and not telling me?” she asks, then gives Wooyoung a smile as her eyes light up with recognition. “Oh, it’s you! Hi again!”

Wooyoung has no idea how to respond to this situation, and San has frozen next to him, clearly taken off guard. These three obviously know each other, and Wooyoung is at a loss for what San is expecting him to do now.

“Uh, hey,” Wooyoung says to Yeji, trying to not look too much like a deer caught in headlights.

It’s safe to say that this evening is turning out _nothing_ like what he’d expected when he’d walked home from the library, back when he’d been hoping to get a good night’s sleep after finishing an essay that had taken him nearly eight hours. Maybe he would’ve been better off just sleeping in the toilets, after all, or breaking bro code and telling Yeosang to get laid somewhere else, because this has somehow resulted in him running into his asshole ex and getting tangled in a fake romance with someone who’s practically a stranger.

“Yeah, sorry, I should’ve told you I’m seeing someone,” San says slowly in reply to Yeji’s question. “It’s just, uh, pretty recent, and we’ve been… keeping it on the downlow, I guess.”

“How recent?” Donghyun asks, as though trying to determine the seriousness of whatever is going on between them.

“None of your business,” Wooyoung snaps.

Yeji appears to catch on that Donghyun’s presence is unwelcome, and quickly interjects, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You just should’ve mentioned it so that I would’ve known that you’re bringing a date to Aunt Eunkyung’s family trip. Maybe she’ll finally get off my back for having a girlfriend if you’ve brought a guy.”

Well.

Wooyoung can’t exactly say he saw this one coming.

“Um, can we talk about this later?” San says, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

Just when Wooyoung had thought the situation could not get any more disastrous, it enters a whole new dimension of nightmarish as he catches sight of Mingi’s familiar red hair across the room. If Mingi comes over, their flimsy story would fold like a stack of cards being blown over by the wind, with everything happening in front of their small audience of bystanders that would undoubtably spread the news across the entirety of campus.

“Let’s go and discuss this in the kitchen. Right now,” Wooyoung says, grabbing San’s arm and trying to convey that this is an emergency with his eyes.

Fortunately, San quickly catches on and the two of them are able to hurriedly walk into the kitchen before Mingi spots them. Unfortunately, Yeji and Donghyun both follow, probably assuming that Wooyoung had been referring to all of them.

Yeji closes the door, finally giving them some amount of privacy from the stares of all the curious onlookers.

“Can you leave?” Wooyoung says to Donghyun, glaring at him as he leans back against the kitchen counter with a relaxed smirk.

“What?” Donghyun raises an eyebrow. “I’m invited on the infamous trip, too, so of course I’m _allowed_ to be here for this discussion.”

Okay, now Wooyoung really has no idea what the hell is going on.

He’s pretty sure the confusion must be written all over his face, because Yeji helpfully adds, “We’re San’s cousins. So, like, we’re all supposed to go on this annual dumb family trip.”

“What the fuck,” Wooyoung turns towards San. “What the _fuck._ You didn’t tell me he’s your _cousin?”_ he says, gesturing at Donghyun.

San looks quite embarrassed. “I, um, might have failed to mention that. But the rest is true, the only reason he ever comes over here is because of his basketball friend.”

“I’d have thought, what with you guys dating and all, that we wouldn’t have these sorts of miscommunication issues,” Donghyun says, smirk still in place.

“Can you please shut the hell up,” San says. “I can’t believe you tried to make a move on him in front of me while thinking he’s aware we’re cousins?”

“I already told you it was nothing personal,” Donghyun’s indifference is clear. “And I wasn’t aware you guys are, like, a _thing_. As far as I knew, you were just hooking up.”

“That’s still pretty shitty of you,” Yeji points out. “But can we get back to my original question? Are you gonna bring Wooyoung on the family trip? Because if you are, then I’ll be able to bring a girl and things will hopefully be less awkward than last time.”

San’s expression is a little helpless as he glances at Wooyoung, neither of them knowing what the fuck they’re supposed to do now.

Yeah, Wooyoung should definitely have just told Yeosang to get laid somewhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK SO . yes this work is unfortunately discontinued and orphaned :( i just dont see myself returning to it in the future, but i didnt wanna delete bc i treasure every comment. sorry!!


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